Darkest Before The Dawn
by xXYouXAreXMyXHerioneXx
Summary: Things have to get harder before they get better, but the better is always worth it. Title taken from the song Shake It Out by Florence&theMachine. FredII/OC. Mentions of child abuse and death.


**AN: A little insight into the life of one of the OCs in my overly large group of them, Emma Clark. You may of seen her in my friends story, because we share OCs, but I wanted to write a look into her life.**

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters you don't know.**

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><p>When she was just a small child, Emma Clark's mother would dance with her in her bedroom, identical smiles gracing their faces as they twirled, while Aaron Clark stood in the doorway with a bright smile on his face, watching his wife and daughter happily.<p>

The thing Emma always remembered the most about her mother after she passed away and everything changed was the whispered talks they used to have in the middle of the night, her mum telling her that things would get better, they just had to get more horrid first.

The day Aaron came home from work drunk and slapped her for the first time was the day Emma found herself wondering when things would get better.

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><p>The Hogwarts Express was looming in front of her, and suddenly Emma wished that her father, despite how he treated her, had stayed with her for this part of the journey, because being here alone and being muggle-born was an incredibly scary experience, even with the directions on how to get onto the train that had been provided by the woman who had shown up at her house and announced that she was a witch.<p>

A red-haired boy rushed past her, knocking into her shoulder and sending both of them to the ground.

"Sorry" the boy muttered, his eyes looking up to meet hers, a kind smile on his face.

"It's alright" Emma said in response, as she pulled herself to her feet and tried to move past him to get to the train.

He slid in front of her, still smiling brightly and holding his hand out for her to shake.

"Fred Weasley, it's nice to meet you. It's only my first year at Hogwarts, and from the looks of it, it's only yours as well. You seem to have it a little harder then me, though, being here all alone. Are you muggle-born?" he asked, tilting his head to the side and looking at her carefully.

Emma nodded, hoping to disappear.

"Alright then. Can I help you with your things? My mum and dad have mine" Fred offered, his voice suddenly much softer then it was moments ago.

Again, Emma didn't speak, but nodded her head.

"Excellent" Fred said happily, grabbing her trolley and pushing it in front of him, looking extremely proud of himself for convincing her to accept his help.

"Fred!" a voice shouted, and Fred spun, smiling when he saw his mother, father, and twin sister rushing towards him quickly.

"What have we told you about running off that way, Fred? You could've gotten lost. From now on you stay near us, do you understand?" George asked, his voice stern.

Angelina was standing a few feet behind him, watching Emma with careful eyes.

"Dad, I was helping her with her trolley. You're always saying I should act more like a gentlemen towards girls, so that's what I was doing. I was helping...oh, I never asked you your name!" Fred yelled, spinning to look at Emma.

All of their eyes were on her, and all Emma wanted to do was to get onto the train and disappear into the crowds and crowds of students, and hope Fred could never find her again.

"Emma. Emma Clark" she finally managed to stutter out, blushing a furious shade of red.

"Emma, that's a pretty name. This is my dad, my mum, and my sister Roxanne. It's her first year too" Fred said, grinning.

If any of them noticed Emma's clearly nervous behavior, they either figured it was because of going to such an unfamilar place for the first time, or they decided that it was best not to mention it at all.

"Fred, Roxy, why don't you all go find a place on the train and help Emma, and we'll take care of the trunks" George offered, nodding his head at his children, who scrambled off, Fred pulling Emma behind him.

They found a compartment to themselves, and Roxanne only stayed for a second before racing off to find their cousin Louis, and Fred placed himself as close to Emma as he could possibly be, the bright smile never leaving his face the entire way to Hogwarts.

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><p>It was over a month before Fred managed to find Emma again, only this time he found her when he heard a quiet sobbing sound coming from one of the girls' bathrooms, and entered to investigate, not caring about the rules he was breaking.<p>

"Hello?" he called quietly.

Emma spun quickly, wiping at her eyes furiously and trying to push past him.

Fred reacted without thinking, reaching out and gripping her arms tightly before she could slip past him and race out of the bathroom.

"Let go" Emma ordered, her voice shaky.

"Emma, what's wrong?" Fred asked carefully, his hands still gripping the top of her arms.

"I said let me go!" Emma yelled, shoving Fred backwards and racing past him and out of the bathroom once the grip on her arms was loosened, leaving Fred standing in the middle of the room, confused.

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><p>After what had happened in the bedroom, Emma did her best to avoid Fred, Roxanne, and Louis everywhere she could, knowing that the boy had gotten his cousins to help him keep an eye on her.<p>

She still saw Roxanne in class, but she managed to slip in and out without Roxanne being able to catch her.

It went on this way until the end of the year, and when they all climbed off of the train, Fred watched with a scowl on his face as Aaron grabbed Emma by the arm, dragging her towards their car in the parking lot, cursing loudly.

Fred could clearly see how upset Emma looked, and he pulled on his father's sleeve, pointing towards the two.

By the time George turned around and looked, they were both gone.

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><p>The next school year, Fred bounced on his heels, trying to spot Emma in the large crowd of students, James watching him carefully.<p>

"Who are you looking for?" James asked curiously, standing on his toes to see what his cousin was looking for.

Fred ignored him and sprinted off, James' hand clutched tightly in his own as he slid to a stop in front of a very shocked looking Emma Clark.

She appeared far smaller then he remembered, and he frowned, noticing the bruise on the side of her face.

"Emma, what happened to your face?" Fred asked quietly.

"Nothing, don't bother" Emma muttered, trying to step past him.

Instead of Fred, it was James who made her stop.

"You're hurt. Fred always helps me and my other cousins when we're hurt. He can help you too" James said loudly, nodding his head.

His words made Emma stop in her tracks, and Fred was suddenly extremely grateful for his eleven year cousin being his responsibilty today.

"We can sit together on the train, if you'd like" Emma finally mumbled, stepping onto the train and leaving Fred and James standing outside, frowns on both of their faces.

Fred sent James to sit with Roxanne and Louis and found Emma by herself. He slowly slid into the seat beside her, remaining silent until the train began to move slowly from it's place, only then letting his eyes rest on the bruised cheek in front of him.

"Someone hurt you" Fred stated.

Emma nodded.

"Was it your dad? I saw him on the way out last year, and I tried to tell my dad, but by the time I did, you were both already gone and I only knew your name. I didn't know where you lived or any other information about you, and I couldn't have stopped him if I tried. I wanted to try, Emma" Fred said, watching her carefully.

Emma sniffled, wiping at her eyes with her hands.

"I can tell my dad" Fred offered quietly.

"No, you can't. You can't do that. It's horrid sometimes, I'll admit that. But most of the time he's alright, he doesn't try to hurt me. I'm all he has left since my mum died a couple years ago, and if you tell your dad, they'll want to take me away from him" Emma said quickly, shaking her head.

"You need to be taken away from him!" Fred yelled loudly.

"No. Promise me, Fred. Promise me you won't mention this to anyone. Not any of your cousins, not your sister, not your parents, not anyone. Do you understand?" Emma asked, her eyes narrowed.

Fred couldn't help but think that for someone so small, she looked awfully scary.

Slowly, he nodded his head, hating himself for it.

Emma sighed in relief and leaned backwards, closing her eyes.

At least this way, Emma would let him be her friend and he could keep an eye on her.

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><p>Fred and Emma are just starting their seventh year before something happens that makes Fred seriously question his decision to promise never to tell someone about the abuse that his now best friend suffers.<p>

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><p>The Weasleys had started a tradition of picking Emma up from her house every school year, and when they pulled up, Fred stepped out of the car to go and help Emma with her things, and as he knocked on the door, he hoped that Emma would answer the door.<p>

The door shot open and he stopped short at the sight of his best friend.

She was rubbing her arm, her face had a rather large red mark on it, and she looked dangerously close to tears.

"Where is he?" Fred hissed, keeping his voice low.

"He's in the living room. I've got my things right here" Emma replied, and Fred stepped into the house, grabbing Emma's school things and allowing her to carry her cat, Autumn, leading her out the door and listening with relief as it closed behind them with no trouble from her father.

"You told me he didn't do it anymore" Fred growled, upset that she had lied to him.

"Just get in the car, Fred" Emma said, not willing to talk about this in front of his family, no matter how much his cousins, sister, parents, uncles and aunts try to get her to open up to them as well, Fred has always been her person to talk to.

Fred grumbled a few words under his breath that would have gotten him in trouble of his mum had heard, but throws himself into the seat.

They didn't speak the entire way to King's Cross.

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><p>The truth is finally revealed to everyone during a screaming match.<p>

"You should have told me the truth!" Fred shouted, catching the attention of Rose and her girlfriend Abigail, who had been walking near the lake.

"It didn't matter, did it? It's been happening since first year! Before that, even! What would it matter if you knew about this one year or not?" Emma asked, keeping her voice calm as Fred's ears turned a bright shade of red.

"What's going on?" Roxanne asked, trying to pull her brother backwards.

Fred pulled out of her grip, looking close to tears, shocking the group of his cousins and friends that had surrounded them.

"It matters because you're my best friend, Emma! You're the girl I'm in love with who can't even tell me the truth about her father abusing her anymore!" Fred shouted, his mouth dropping open as soon as he realized what he had just told everyone.

"What?" Abigail muttered, turning to face Emma.

"Her dad hits her?" Louis asked, feeling slightly sick to his stomach.

"It doesn't matter!" Emma said loudly, pushing her way through the crowd and racing back towards the castle.

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><p>Nearly two hours later, Hugo and Alexandra Zabini find her sitting alone in an empty corridor, her face buried in her knees.<p>

"Emma?" Alexandra asked carefully, sitting down next to her.

"Go away" Emma mumbled.

"No, I don't think we will" Hugo suddenly said, shocking both of the girls.

Emma looked up at him, her eyes wide.

"You've been in our lifes for nearly six years now, and you can't believe that we care about you? That we hate the fact that someone has been hurting you this entire time and there was nothing we could do about it? Are you out of your mind? We all care about you. Every last one of us, even if you can't see it, Emma. Rose and Abigail are nearly in tears, Lily, Lucy and Molly want to find a way to murder him without being caught, even Austin Macmillon wants to do something, which is shocking because all he ever wants to do is snog Louis! After this year, you're not going back to your house, no matter how badly you believe your father may need you. You'll stay with Fred at his new flat, and you won't argue about it. You'll be of age, and your father can rot as far as I'm concerned" Hugo said, letting out a sharp breath at the end of his speech.

Alexandra blinked at her normally calm, collected, quiet best friend in shock, before her eyes turned to Emma, who had the same look on her face.

Emma let out a shaky breath and stood slowly, nodding her head.

"Alright" she agreed quietly.

Hugo nodded, seeming satisfied with that, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

To his surprise, she didn't flinch, and he tried to ignore the sharp intake of breath.

"None of us will ever hurt you, Emma, I can promise you that. What your father has been doing is unforgivable, and none of us would ever do that to you" Hugo said quietly, looking into her eyes to make sure she understood him.

For the first time, Emma felt herself start to believe him.

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><p>Hugo and Alexandra lead Emma back out to the lake, where Fred is waiting for her, and without even saying goodbye, both of them race off towards the castle, leaving her alone with Fred.<p>

The two sat in silence for a moment, before Emma spoke up.

"You said you're in love with me" she whispered.

"I did" Fred agreed, nodding his head.

"Did you mean it?" Emma asked, meeting his eyes.

Fred snorted.

"Of course I meant it, Em. You're my best friend in this entire world, and I've been in love with you since I can remember. I love you, Emma Clark, and I never want you to forget it, because you don't deserve anything that's happened to you, and you deserve to be loved" he said.

Emma didn't respond, so Fred turned towards her, tilting his head to the side and reminding her of the day they first met.

"Can I kiss you?" Fred asked.

Although she knew it was coming, the question shocked Emma, but despite the fear in her chest she nodded her head, and Fred leaned forward, pressing his lips firmly against hers.

It only lasted a moment, but when Fred pulled back there was a bright smile on his face that made Emma smile too.

"I love you" Fred whispered.

"I love you too" Emma replied, and knew that she meant it.

For once, her mother's words from years ago made sense to her.

Things have to get harder before they can get better, but the better is always worth it.


End file.
